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User blog:Doctortortuga/Describing the purpose of each machine.
Hullo everyone! I'm somewhat new to this wiki, however I have just completed Horizon Zero Dawn and can say with certainty it is my favorite game that I have ever played. Point being, I would like to improve this wiki any way I can, especially in lore aspects. The first large project I am working on is determining the specific pre-Derangement purpose of each machine and how it contributed to recreating the biosphere. I will be adding these edits to each machine's wiki page, as well as possibly creating pages for each class of machine and how they work. I felt I should put my current thoughts here and leave them open to discussion. Aquisition Class Machines These machines seem to make up the bulk of GAIA's creations, referred to as "Aquisition" because of their secondary function of harvesting materials used in the creation of more machines. Aquisition class machines seem to have several subgroups, all with different purposes, and all designed to assist with different Zero Dawn Subfunctions. Terraformers These machines seem to be designed to assist subfunction DEMETER, manipulating the land to make it more suitible for plant life, as well as collecting Blaze to fuel the creation of more machines. *Grazers **The most obvious terraformers, Grazers seem to be designed to till and fertilize the earth, using their antler-mounted rotor blades to break up and expose soil therefore making it suitable for planting flora. *Chargers and Broadheads **Chargers and Broadheads both sport a grinding apparatus on their "faces", which insinuates their purpose to be breaking and grinding rocks that get in the way of plant growth. *Trampler **Tramplers are often spotted using their large, scoop-like horns to pick up large chunks of earth, presumably to move it somewhere else. This is more or less a large scale version of digging holes to transplant flowers or trees. *Rockbreakers **This one's kind of self explanatory. Pretty much called in when Charges and Broadheads won't do the trick. Purifiers These machines are most likely created for the POSEIDON and AETHER subfunctions, both tasked with detoxifying the environment. *Snapmaws and Lancehorns **Snapmaws and Lancehorns were most likely designed for the POSEIDON subfunction, in which their purpose is to clean the planet's oceans, lakes, and other water sources. They accomplish this by using their Chillwater stores to freeze water in order to purify it, then using their respective jaws and drills to break up the ice and extract the toxins as well as making it melt easier due to more surface area. *Striders **While Striders seem to be a terraforming machine due to their similarities with Charges and Broadheads, as well as the shared practice of bowing towards the ground as if they were "grazing", they have no terraforming apparatus of any kind. It is more likely they work for the AETHER subfunction, "grazing" to collect the oxygen given off by the grass and then distributing it in areas with unbalanced atmospheres. Recyclers These machines fit under the "Aquisition Class" label moreso than the others, likely working directly for subfunction HEPHAESTUS by gathering destroyed machines, breaking them down, and bringing the materials back to the Cauldrons for the creation of more machines. *Scrappers **Scrappers were created as basic scavengers, a fact most likely acknowleged by GAIA due to their resemblence to hyenas. While their radar technology assists them in locating humans, it is entirely possible they had these radars before the Derangement to make up for the lack of an aerial veiw such as the ones Glinthawks have. *Glinthawks **Modeled after earth's other top scavenger, vultures, Glinthawks are quite similar to Scrappers in their purpose and behavior, with a few design changes. The most notable of these changes is that they have wings, but they also differ from Scrappers with their freeze sac, a tool possibly used to make metal more brittle and easier to break down. Transport Class Machines Transport Class machines are designed to assist Aquisition Class machines in transporting the materials they gather. Bellowbacks are an exception to this, instead transporting volatile liquids with seperate uses. *Shell Walkers **Shell Walkers are the most standard of the Transport Class machines, able to load and unload their cargo with ease. It is possible they were equipped with their shield and lightning gun before the Derangement, but it is unlikely as there wouldn't have been a use for it. *Behemoths **The protected nature of the Behemoth's container, being smaller and less exposed than that of a Shell Walker suggests the Behemoths are primarily used for more sensitive cargo. *Bellowbacks **An outlier of the other Transport Class machines, both types of Bellowbacks seem to be designed to safely transport volatile liquid, the nature of which (pyrogenic and cryogenic) suggests they are primarily used for controlling plant growth. Category:Blog posts